


Counting Stars

by Chericola



Category: Charlie Bone Series | Children of the Red King - Jenny Nimmo
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 21:02:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8505274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chericola/pseuds/Chericola
Summary: Amy and Lyell spend part of one night of their honeymoon counting stars.





	

'Count the stars and make a wish.'

Lyell grinned at her from close by her side, looking up with her at the Mexican night sky. Amy smiled back at him. The sky was beautiful tonight. There were so many stars, and no moon. She could count one, three, four, seven, ten, sixteen… The stars went on and on. There were probably billions of them, some too far away to see with the naked eye.

She closed her eyes and made her wish.

'What did you wish for?'

Startled, she cracked her eyes open again to find Lyell looking at her intently. 'We're not supposed to say,' she told him. 'It's bad luck.'

'Well, then… If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?'

She frowned, considering. 'For us to be together,' she said at last. 'And happy.'

And safe from the Yewbeams…

'I like that dream,' Lyell said softly. She saw him gaze up at the sky, his dark eyes deep and fathomless. 'Myself, I wish that my mother and her sisters weren't so cruel. That my mother could grow a heart. That we could be safe.'

Amy felt herself shiver, and not only because of the cool breeze in the air. 'Do you think that they'll leave us alone, when we get back? We're not endowed—why would they care if we're together or not?'

Lyell shrugged. 'They love rules, and hate when people do what they don't like. They like punishing those who break the rules. And I broke the rules when I married you.'

He didn't add that if they had a baby—which they planned to, someday—the Yewbeams would never rest until they had it in their grasp. It was likely that their child would be endowed, especially since he himself wasn't. Endowments usually doubled in likelihood if they skipped a generation. And he didn't want any child of theirs to spend their early childhood in a dark, dingy castle surrounded by people who only thought of him (or her) as a tool to be twisted and molded.

Seeing Amy's worried expression, he added, 'But I think they'll leave us alone, if we stay out of their way.'

Amy looked dismally at him. 'And will we stay out of their way?' She knew too well the streak of nobility that he had, that he couldn't not do anything when there was someone who needed help. He wasn't like Paton. He had been at the mercy of the evil branch of the Yewbeams as a child—he hated to see anyone else be in a similar position.

He turned to Amy and kissed her lightly on the lips. 'We'll try, Amy,' he said. 'I promise you we will try.'


End file.
